(a) The certificate to practice nurse-midwifery authorizes the holder, under the supervision of a licensed physician and surgeon, to attend cases of normal childbirth and to provide prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care, including family-planning care, for the mother, and immediate care for the newborn.
(b) As used in this chapter, the practice of nurse-midwifery constitutes the furthering or undertaking by any certified person, under the supervision of a licensed physician and surgeon who has current practice or training in obstetrics, to assist a woman in childbirth so long as progress meets criteria accepted as normal. All complications shall be referred to a physician immediately. The practice of nurse-midwifery does not include the assisting of childbirth by any artificial, forcible, or mechanical means, nor the performance of any version.
(c) As used in this article, “supervision” shall not be construed to require the physical presence of the supervising physician.
(d) A certified nurse-midwife is not authorized to practice medicine and surgery by the provisions of this chapter.
(e) Any regulations promulgated by a state department that affect the scope of practice of a certified nurse-midwife shall be developed in consultation with the board.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 764, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018